FINDINGS IN THE MATTER OF A COMPLAINT REGARDING GOVERNOR
TIM PAWLENTY AND THE (TIM) PAWLENTY FOR GOVERNOR COMMITTEE

Procedural
Background

On
July 25, 2003, Mike Erlandson, Chair, Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party of
Minnesota, filed a complaint with the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure
Board ("the Board") against Governor Tim Pawlenty relating to events occurring
when he was a candidate for governor ("Candidate Pawlenty") and the (Tim) Pawlenty
for Governor Committee ("the Pawlenty Committee").

Mr.
Erlandson alleged that Candidate Pawlenty failed to disclose compensation
received from BAMCO and Associates LLC ("BAMCO") on his Original Statement of
Economic Interest when he filed for office in 2002.Mr. Erlandson requested that the Board determine if Candidate
Pawlenty knowingly filed a false report with the Board in violation of Minn.
Stat. 10A.025, subd. 2, and to determine if the compensation that BAMCO
received was an attempt to circumvent the contribution limits in violation of
Minn. Stat. 10A.29.Additionally, Mr.
Erlandson alleged that payments from Access Anywhere LLC to BAMCO were
corporate contributions to the Pawlenty Committee that violated Minn. Stat.
211B.15.

On
August 20, 2003, Julie Risser, Edina Green Party and Rhesa Schwartz, St. Louis
Park Green Party filed a complaint regarding this matter.Ms. Risser and Ms. Schwartz also alleged
that Candidate Pawlenty violated Minn. Stat. 10A.09, subd. 5, by failing to
accurately report the nature of his association with BAMCO, and Minn. Stat.
10A.20, subd. 3, by failing to report to the Board payments that BAMCO
received from Access Anywhere LLC as a contribution to the Pawlenty
Committee.Ms. Risser and Ms. Schwartz
also alleged that both then Candidate Pawlenty and Access Anywhere LLC violated
Minn. Stat. 10A.27, when BAMCO accepted payments from Access Anywhere LLC in
excess of the contribution limits for candidates.

The
purpose of the Board's investigation into this matter was to determine if
Candidate Pawlenty violated provisions of Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 10A. The
Board's authority to investigate violations is limited to the provisions of
Chapter 10A by Minn. Stat. 10A.02, subds. 10 and 11.The Board did not investigate allegations of violations outside
the scope of Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 10A, including the allegations that
Access Anywhere LLC and Candidate Pawlenty violated Minn. Stat. 211B.15.

On
July 22, 2003, prior to being notified of the complaint, Governor Pawlenty
amended his Original Statement of Economic Interest filed in July of 2002 to
disclose that BAMCO was a source of compensation from June of 2001 through July
of 2002.BAMCO had been listed on the
Original Statement of Economic Interest as an investment.

On
July 28, 2003, the Board requested information from Governor Pawlenty regarding
his Original Statement of Economic Interest, and the subsequent amendment.Board review of the Reports of Receipts and
Expenditures for calendar year 2002 for the Pawlenty Committee determined that
the Pawlenty Committee reported no cash or in-kind contributions from Pawlenty
in 2002.Because there were no
contributions from the personal funds of the Candidate Pawlenty to the Palwenty
Committee there appears to be no connection between the payments from Access
Anywhere LLC to BAMCO and the Pawlenty Committee.Therefore, circumvention of the contribution limits as prohibited
in Minn. Stats. 10A.27 and 10A.29 could not have occurred.

On
August 14, 2003, attorney Christopher Dietzen, responded on behalf of Governor
Pawlenty,

and
asserted that then Candidate Pawlenty was not required to disclose his
interests in BAMCO, a single-member limited liability company.Mr. Dietzen noted that Minn. Stat. 10A.09,
subd. 5, requires public officials to disclose income from any associated
business.In his response, Mr. Dietzen
cited the statutory definitions of "associated business" and "association" and
stated "given the plain statutory language, it is obvious that the Governor had
no responsibility to report the income he received from BAMCO.Because BAMCO consisted of only one
person—the Governor—BAMCO simply is not an association as that term is
defined."Mr. Dietzen further stated
"the Governor complied with both the letter and the spirit of the reporting
requirements…Nonetheless, he went beyond the requirements to disclose his
interest in BAMCO."

On
August 26, 2003, Mr. Dietzen responded on behalf of Governor Pawlenty to the
complaint filed by Ms. Risser and Ms. Schwartz.In response to Ms. Risser and Ms. Schwartz's allegations that the
Pawlenty Committee failed to report contributions from Access Anywhere LLC that
were in excess of the contribution limit Mr. Dietzen stated, "this allegation
ignores the fact that neither Governor Tim Pawlenty, BAMCO, nor Access Anywhere
made any contributions to the Pawlenty for Governor Committee.Making a contribution to the Committee is
expressly required to state a claim for violation of Minn. Stat. 10A.20 and
10A.27."

On
August 26, 2003, James Moore, Chair, Independence Party of Minnesota, submitted
a letter supporting Ms. Risser and Ms. Schwartz's complaint.

On
August 27, 2003, Mr. Erlandson submitted a second letter alleging that by
accepting payments from Elam Baer of Access Anywhere LLC, Candidate Pawlenty
exceeded the campaign expenditure limits set forth in Minn. Stat. 10A.25,
subd.2.

The
Board considered both complaints in executive session at its meeting on August
27, 2003.The Board's decision was
based upon the complaints, the response, records obtained from the Minnesota
Secretary of State's Office and Board records.

Based on the record before
it, the Board issues the following:

EVIDENTIARY
FINDINGS

Minn. Stat. 10A.09,
subd. 5, requires that an individual filing a statement of economic
interest disclose income received from "each associated business."

Minn. Stat 10A.01,
subd. 5, defines an "associated business" as "an association from which
the individual receives compensation in excess of $50, except for actual
and reasonable expenses, in any month as a director, officer, owner,
member, partner, employer, or employee, or whose securities the individual
holds worth $2,500 or more at fair market value.

Minn. Stat. 10A.01,
subd. 6 defines an association as "a group of two or more persons, who are
not all members of an immediate family, acting in concert."

Governor Pawlenty was
the sole member of BAMCO, a limited liability company.

The Pawlenty Committee
reported no contributions from Candidate Pawlenty, Access Anywhere LLC or
BAMCO during calendar year 2002.

Based on the above Statement of the Evidence, the Board makes the
following:

FINDINGS CONCERNING PROBABLE
CAUSE

1.There is no probable cause to believe that Candidate Pawlenty
was required to disclose the compensation received from BAMCO, and thus no
probable cause to believe that any reporting violation ever existed.

2.Given that Candidate Pawlenty was not required to disclose the
compensation received from BAMCO, there is no probable cause to believe that
Candidate Pawlenty knowingly filed a false report with the Board.

3.Given that Candidate Pawlenty made no contributions to his own
campaign in calendar year 2002, there is no probable cause to believe payments
from Elam Baer and Access Anywhere to BAMCO were used to make contributions to
the Pawlenty Committee.

4.The Board does not have the authority to determine if
Candidate Pawlenty or Access Anywhere violated Minn. Stat. 211B.15 by giving
or accepting a corporate contribution.

7.Because
the Board does not have the authority to make a determination if a violation of
Minn. Stat. 211B.15 occurred, the Board directs the Executive Director to
refer this matter to the Dakota County Attorney for review.

8.The
record in this matter and all correspondence is hereby entered into public
record in accordance with Minn. Stat. 10A.02, subd. 11.Board staff shall provide copies of these
Findings to Governor Pawlenty, Mr. Erlandson, Mr. Moore, Ms. Risser and Ms.
Schwartz.